In recent years, digital cameras (imaging apparatus, imaging device, or image sensing apparatuses) capable of photographing an image by a simple operation and converting the image into digital image data have widely been used. To print an image photographed by this camera and use the print as a photograph, the photographed digital image data is temporarily input from the digital camera to a PC (computer), and undergoes image processing by the PC. The processed data is then output from the PC to a color printer, which prints the data.
To the contrary, there have been developed color print systems capable of directly transferring digital image data from a digital camera to a color printer and printing the data without the mediacy of any PC, and so-called photo-direct (PD) printers capable of directly mounting in a color printer a memory card which is mounted in a digital camera and stores a sensed image, and printing the photographed image stored in the memory card.
Especially digital image data photographed by a digital camera is generally saved in a memory card as a file of a predetermined compressed file format every photographed image. For this purpose, the photo-direct printer has a function of reading out digital image data from a memory card for every file, mapping the compressed digital image data, and printing the data.
In the photo-direct printer, the user must cumbersomely dismount the memory card from the digital camera and mount the memory card in the printer every printing. The memory card itself is a compact, precise device, and requires careful work in dismounting, mounting, or the like. A beginner who is inexperienced in handling a memory card may mount the memory card in an erroneous orientation or direction. The number of complicated, careful processes must be minimized.